1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to an electronic payment method, and, more particularly, to a multi-step authentication-based electronic payment method using a mobile terminal, which not only can realize the security and convenience of making electronic payments through multi-step authentication, composed of authentication based on a phone number and a personal identification code and authentication based on a One Time Password (OTP), using the mobile terminal of a user, but also can improve the security of transactions and the convenience of the user by utilizing both a limit management system capable of providing a payment service in line with the credit limit of the user and a risk management system capable of preventing illegal transactions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Interest in electronic payment methods using portable mobile devices including mobile phones (hereinafter referred to as ‘mobile terminals’) has increased gradually. Recently, the fields of use of electronic payments have extended to making payments based on the transactions of various products and a variety of types of services as well as payments for Internet content.
As conventional electronic payment methods, a payment based on a credit card is configured to use a method of allowing a user to directly enter a credit card number and a password, thus realizing convenient payments. However, this method is disadvantageous in that, when such a credit card number and password are accidentally leaked to a third party having a malicious intention, one is made to worry about the security of transactions, indicating that a serious loss of personal property may follow. Even in the case where a payment method such as making an online money transfer is used, it is inconvenient to use such a payment method because a user expresses an intention to purchase a relevant product and thereafter personally visits a bank or transfer money corresponding to the purchasing price to the account of a seller through telebanking or Internet banking.
Due thereto, recently, research into a new electronic payment method capable of not only improving the security of transaction information of each person but also satisfying both the security and convenience of transactions using mobile phones has been actively conducted, with the recent tendency for mobile phone to become popular.
The inventions disclosed and taught herein are directed to an improved system and method for authenticating electronic payments using a mobile terminal.